Deadly Class TV Series Kills a Major Character

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the fifth episode of Syfy's Deadly Class, "Saudade."

Deadly Class has certainly lived up to its billing, pitting the students of King's Dominion against each other as part of their training to become the world's best assassins. But while they may get beneath each other's skin, and even draw blood, no student is permitted to kill a classmate. Murder has already occurred on school grounds as a result of the attack by the Kuroki gang pursuing Saya (Lana Condor), but the main cast has been relatively safe from death. That is, until "Saudade" takes a major player off the table.

The episode adapts Issues 4-6 of the Image Comics series by Rick Remender and Wes Craig, which follow the teens' road trip to Las Vegas. In the source material, it was supposed to be a getaway from school, and somewhat of a bonding exercise, but the adaptation fashions the adventure from the onset as a hit on the abusive father of Billy (Liam James). That occurs in the comics, of course, but it was only after they got to Las Vegas that Billy spilled the beans.

That aside, "Saudade" stays relatively true to the comic, with Marcus (Marcus Lopez Arguello), Saya, Maria (María Gabriela de Faría) and Willie (Luke Tennie) getting wasted before heading to the casino/hotel where Billy's dad is staying. As everyone else heads off to come down, Billy goes to the room next to his to attack his dad. His roommate, the hallucinating Marcus, initially doesn't realize what's going, but when he does zone in on the commotion, he races to help Billy. They succeed in their mission, except that rather than depict Marcus knowingly delivering the killer stroke as in the comics, it's more of an accident. Nevertheless, it's a tragic moment that has a major impact on both boys, leaving them remorseful and traumatized. However, Billy's father isn't the major death of the episode; it's merely a precursor to the main event.

As Marcus wanders around afterward, an inebriated Maria pulls him into her room and, just as they're about to sleep together, her boyfriend Chico (Michel Duval) arrives. He tailed his classmates to Las Vegas, to see whether Maria would cheat on him, and when she's on the cusp of infidelity, Chico loses it. Storming the room, the gang-banger incapacitates Maria and chases Marcus into a grocery store, and then an alley, mercilessly beating him along the way. Even after Maria brings the rest of the gang to intervene, Chico gets the upper hand. He stabs Billy for trying to play peacemaker, and calls out Willie's fears of being a killer. But just as he's about to put a bullet through Marcus' head, Maria whips out her famous bladed fan and slits Chico's throat. Shocked, the team heads back out to stitch up Billy and return to school, leaving Chico's body in the alley.

His death is going to have major repercussions because of the school's no-kill rule. In the comics, Chico's death leads Master Lin to allow his family to come for Maria, whom they view as their property. Although Lin is more heroic in the TV series, it's still unlikely he'll help the students to cover their tracks, because Chico's family has every right to revenge.

Even if Lin wanted to, he can't cover it up, because Marcus' arch-nemesis, Chester, aka Fuckface (Tom Stevens), found Chico's corpse and took it with him to instigate a war at the school. He knows that will hurt Marcus more than anything else, as it will lead to his friends feeling the heat.

Airing Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Syfy, Deadly Class stars Benedict Wong, Benjamin Wadsworth, Lana Condor, María Gabriela de Faría, Luke Tennie, Liam James and Michel Duval.

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Syfy's Deadly Class Kills Off a Major Character